


Dark Trauma

by Vashti93



Category: Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-12 19:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vashti93/pseuds/Vashti93
Summary: Something happened to Raven, something bad.  But she can't remember.  She needs to remember.  If she doesn't, Connor may never wake up.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Raven
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

_Beep. Beep._ The heart monitor was the only sound to be heard in the med bay. Raven sat with her head in her hands, willing Connor to wake up. _What had happened? How did it come to this? _She honestly could not remember. She remembered the distress call. She remembered she and Connor getting to the night club first. She remembered Red Robin telling them to wait for backup, but Connor had already run into the night club. So, she followed him. She remembered flying pass the police cars, the blaring of their sirens contributing to her already existing headache. She remembered running into the night club. It had been rented out by some rich kid throwing a party for whatever reason. She couldn’t see Connor through the club’s flashing lights and fog machines, and she oddly couldn’t sense him anywhere. Most of the club’s occupants had already escaped. There were a few bodies on the floor, but she’d worry about them later. She remembered trying to sense Connor, and that’s where things got fuzzy.

_ Raven opened her eyes. She sat up and waited for her vision to clear. She then took stock of her surroundings. The building had been reduced to rubble. It was…gone. Cops were yelling, speaking into their radios, calling for backup. Cops and a few spectators were trying to remove pieces of the building, trying to reach the victims buried underneath. She sensed fear coming from the already gathering crowd. She looked down at herself. Her clothes were torn, and she had blood pouring out of a deep gash on her head. Probably from a ceiling beam, she surmised. “Raven!” She turned to see Red Robin and the rest of the team running towards her. Shock and horror clearly evident on their faces. He said something to a nearby cop who pointed at her. She then realized that she was the source of the crowd’s fear. Suddenly Wonder Girl was in front of her, yanking her to her feet, and shaking her roughly. “What did you do?” she demanded. Raven stuttered. “Wh-what?” was Raven’s only response. She looked at the destruction all around her. Cop cars were flipped over, one was in a tree. Shattered glass was all over the place. “Connor!” Cassie let her go and began to dig for her ex. The other Titans had already made themselves scarce, looking for survivors, helping the police, retrieving the cop car from the tree. Red Robin was suddenly in front of her. She immediately felt his worry. He gently cupped her face and asked, “What happened?”_

_ “I don’t know,” she replied, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know."_

* * *

She had done her best to heal Connor; but with the trauma to her head, and her fragile emotional state, she could only do so much. Though, physically speaking, he was fine. There wasn’t a scratch on him. But, for some reason, he was in a coma. She had gotten an earful from Cassie as soon as they reached the tower.

_ “This is your fault!” Cassie screamed. “How could you lose control? Why didn’t you wait for backup?”_

_ “Enough, Cassie!” Red Robin had stepped between the two girls. “We don’t know what happened here. Connor isn’t our main concern right now. Raven stay here. Rest and keep watch over Connor.”_

_ “What!” Cassie protested. “You’re leaving him with her? It’s her fault we’re in this mess in the first place! She can’t be trusted!”_

_ “I said enough, Cassie! You and I need to get back out there and help with rescue. Here is the best place for Raven to be right now. Will you be okay?” he had asked Raven. Raven nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.” Cassie turned to follow him, but not before giving Raven a dirty look. _

Now, Raven sat on the bed, looking at her hands. What happened? How did she lose control? She was always in control. Save for a few instances. And why wasn’t Connor waking up? He didn’t have a scratch on him.

Raven sensed before she heard the rest of the titans enter the tower. They were speaking amongst themselves. The atmosphere was tense and depressing. She heard the doors to the med bay open. Tim and Cassie had walked in. Raven could sense their auras. “Any change?” she heard Tim ask.

“No. No change,” Raven said softly. “Is everyone okay?” she asked without looking up. She heard Cassie scoff. “You mean from the building you dropped on them?” Cassie asked.

“Cass,” Tim said harshly.

“Whatever,” Cassie responded walking away. “I’m over this.” It was just Tim, Raven, and a comatose Connor. Eventually, Raven looked up to see Tim staring intently at her, his mask off. He took a step closer to her. His blue eyes holding her gaze.

“It’s just us now, Rae. You can tell me anything. What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Raven sighed, looking away. “I don’t remember. I can’t remember.”

“Raven- “

“I’m telling the truth, Tim. I don’t remember. I don’t know.” Tim sat on the edge of the bed she occupied. Raven pulled her knees to her chest to give him more room. “It’s…it feels like there’s a black hole in my memory. I don’t know what happened. I remember running into the night club, but I don’t remember anything after that. I just remember laying in a pile of rubble.” Tim reached out to put a comforting hand on her knee, but Raven flinched. Visibly flinched. There was nothing subtle about that flinch. Tim looked at her curiously. “Are you okay?” he asked. Raven stared at him for a moment before nodding slightly. “Okay,” he said, clearly unconvinced, “but I’m benching you for now. Just until things get back to normal.” Raven nodded, resting her head on her knees.


	2. Chapter 2

One month. That’s how long it took for things to go back to “normal”. The public was still weary of her, but at least she was now able to go out on some rescue missions without someone trying to throw a glass bottle at her head, calling her a devil’s spawn, and telling her to go to hell. The team was no longer on edge around her…well…they no longer looked at her like she was going to blow any second. Tim was still trying to get her to talk about what happened that night. She still couldn’t remember. Bart and Garfield treated her like they always did. Rose was civil to her. And Cassie could now stand to be in the same room with her. Which was a huge improvement being that Connor was still in a comatose state. She had just begun her senior year in high school. She had even made a friend. On the outside, everything seemed fine. But all was not well in Raven’s world. She had at least one nightmare every night. In her dreams, she was either drowning or suffocating. Sometimes it even felt like someone, or something, was on top of her. She couldn’t move or breathe. It was then that she would wake up mid-scream. Thankfully, no one seemed to hear her. The only other room on her floor was Tim’s, and he had been splitting his time between the Titans and Gotham. He rarely slept in the tower. Also, her appearance had changed. She had lost weight, she looked paler than usual, she was always tired, and she started having panic or anxiety attacks. She hadn’t been able to meditate since that day. Not that it mattered. Her powers seemed to have weaken anyway. But, from the outside, everything was fine. She was fine. She was totally…not fine.

* * *

“So, you in?” Raven looked up from her lunch. “I’m sorry,” she said, “what?”

“Are you okay, Rachel?” her friend asked. “You’ve been acting weird these past few weeks. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Tabitha. It’s nothing. I just haven’t been sleeping lately. What did you want to do tonight?”

“The Blackbirds are performing tonight. You in?”

“They’re playing at Verdant, right? Don’t you have to be 21 to get into that club?” Tabitha reached into her back pocket and pulled out two small, plastic cards. “Ta-da,” she said.

“Fake IDs?” Raven gasped. “Where did you get these?"

“My brother knows a guy.”

“Wait, my fake name is Glitter? What am I, a stripper?”

“Who cares about your name? They’ll only look at the birth date, anyway. So, are you in?”

“I don’t know,” Raven said, picking at her food.

“Come one, Rache,” Tabitha said, “honestly, you look like you could use a night off.” Raven still looked skeptical. “It’s Friday,” Tabitha whined. “Please don’t make me go alone. Please. Please.” Raven rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics. “Fine,” she gave in. “Yay!” Tabitha grabbed her arm. “Want me to pick you up?”

“No,” Raven said nonchalantly, “I’ll meet you at the club. 9:30, right?”

“Yes. What are you going to wear?” Tabitha asked too eagerly.

* * *

Raven slowly walked along the sidewalk with her head down. She could have teleported to the tower, but she didn’t have the energy. “Hey, sweetheart,” a man catcalled her. Raven froze. Her breath became shallow. She began to tremble. Her head started to hurt. The man continued to talk to her, but Raven had zoned out. Her vision became cloudy. Suddenly, she could sense everything and everyone in a twenty-mile radius. She immediately gripped the sides of her head and clenched her eyes shut. She needed air. The man was now in her face. He reached out to touch her arm, but Raven quickly pushed him back. With her powers. Finally, the pain stopped. She looked up to see a crowd had gathered. She turned to see the man in a crumbled heap by a building. At first, she thought she had killed him. But then she heard him moan. She slowly backed away, looking at her hands. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she got lost in the crowd.

* * *

“Ooh. Where you off to?” Garfield asked.

“I’m going out with a friend.”

“Ohhhh. A friend or a _friend_?”

“No,” Raven said with a slight smile. “Just a regular friend. Her favorite band is in town. We’re going to see them perform.”

“You going to teleport?”

“Walk.”

“This late at night? Be careful. Stay safe.”

“I can take care of myself, Gar,” she said as she reached the elevator. “Tell Tim, will you?”

“Tell me what?” Raven and Garfield whirled around to the see the third boy wonder standing in a pair of khakis and a red polo t-shirt looking very comfortable and very cute. Raven turned away, hiding the blush in her cheeks.

“Raven is going into town with a friend,” Garfield said.

“Oh,” Tim said, “this late? Need a ride?”

“No,” Raven replied.

“Yes,” Garfield said at the same time. Tim raised an eyebrow. “Raven wants to walk into town, by herself,” Garfield continued. “Not teleport, walk.”

“Nonsense,” Tim said, “I’ll give you a ride.”

“It’s fine, really,” Raven said. “I can take care of myself. I’m not a child.”

“Come on,” Tim said, “I’m on my way out anyway. I have to drive through town.”

“I don’t want to ride on your bike,” Raven said.

“It’s okay. I bought the Lambo.”

“The Lamborghini!” Beastboy exclaimed. “Can I come, too?”

“No,” Raven and Tim said at the same time.

“You guys just suck the fun out of everything,” he pouted. “Fine. I’ll just play video games with Impulse. Enjoy your evening.” Tim looked at Raven as Beastboy walked away. “Shall we?” he asked.

* * *

They rode in silence. Raven concentrated on her breathing. Now was not the time to have an anxiety attack. But she couldn’t help it. She was alone in a car with Tim. She wasn’t scared. She was anxious. She looked outside the window at the city’s lights. She just needed to calm herself, find her center. She closed her eyes as she felt the beginnings of a headache. “Are you okay?” Tim asked. “You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine,” she said sharply. Tim bristled at her tone. “You don’t seem fine,” he said. “Actually, you haven’t been yourself since that night. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“I’m fine, Tim,” she said firmly. Silence overtook them again. Eventually, Tim pulled up to the dark nightclub. “This is it?” he asked. “Don’t you have to be 21 to get in?” Raven nodded. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Raven, wait,” he said before she could open the car door. “I just want you to know, I am here for you. You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?” his blue eyes bore into hers. She nodded slowly. “I know,” she whispered. Her breath hitched when she saw Tim lift his hand to touch her. But he must have heard her sharp intake of breath, because he slowly lowered it. “You want me to pick you up?”

“No. That’s okay. It probably won’t be over until 2 or 3.”

“I can come back.”

“Won’t you be in Gotham?”

“I don’t _have_ to go to Gotham.”

“No, Tim- “

“Raven,” Tim placed a hand on Raven’s shoulder. She flinched and quickly shoved her body as close to the door as possible. “Are you okay? Tell me honestly.” He stared at her, hard.

“I need to go,” Raven whispered. She needed to get out of the car. She gently shut the car door and watched Tim drive away.

“Who was that?” Raven turned to see Tabitha right behind her.

“A friend,” Raven said. “I’ll introduce you someday.” Tabitha linked her arm with Raven’s. “Let’s go,” she said with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

The place was packed. Bodies were everywhere – pushing and shoving and rubbing against her. She was fine after the first song. She was okay after the second song. But then the third song began, and Raven could no longer deal. There were so many emotions, and Raven felt them all. Her head started to pound. The crowd was pressing in. She was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe. Where was Tabitha? She was beginning to tremble. She needed to get out of there. Someone fell into her, and Raven landed on her knees. Suddenly, she was no longer in this private club. She was back at the night club. She was on her back. Someone was above her. She couldn’t make out who. It was all a blur. And a really bright light was shining in her eyes. She couldn’t move. An overwhelming since of fear overtook her. A scream immediately brought her back to reality. She was crouched on the club floor. Her hands were covering her ears, and she was screaming. The place began to shake, and the lights began to flicker. “Earthquake!” somebody screamed. Everyone began to panic and rush towards the exits. Raven knew she had to calm down. She had to get out of there. She immediately teleported into the pouring rain. She was all alone in an alley. She crouched down and immediately began to get her breathing back under control. She was done. She was exhausted. She was going home. She shot a text to Tabitha, apologizing for bailing on her. She then texted Tim and let him know that she wouldn’t be needing his services. She began the long, lonely trek back to the tower.

* * *

Raven stood over Connor, uncaringly dripping rainwater onto the floor. The steady beep of the heart monitor the only thing letting them know he was still alive. “I am so sorry,” Raven whispered. “Please wake up. I need you to tell me what happened. I need you to help me remember. Please wake up.” Tears began to pool in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she heard a sharp voice ask. She turned to see Cassie glaring at her. Cassie stepped into the light and opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it. She tilted her head to the side and said, “You’re all wet? Have you been crying? You look awful.” Raven nodded and brushed past her. “This is your fault. He’s like this because of you,” Cassie said. Raven paused. “You need to fix this. Soon. If he dies, I will never forgive you,” Cassie finished and planted herself by Connor’s bed. Raven blinked back tears and walked back to her room.

* * *

She had a restless night full of nightmares. The dreams were getting worse. When she woke up, her room was in complete disarray. What was wrong with her? She was on edge, even more so than usual. She couldn’t seem to relax. She was constantly looking over her shoulder. She was scared all the time. Frightened, actually. She didn’t know what to do. This last nightmare consisted of her choking and someone shining a bright light in her eyes. She looked at her clock. _2:30 a.m. _She needed to sleep. “Raven, can you come to the ops room ASAP?” she heard over the sound system. She immediately put on her uniform with a groan and teleported to the ops room. It was her, Rose, Impulse, and Beastboy. “There’s a fire downtown. An apartment building. Fire department reached out to us. They’re stuck in traffic. By the time they get there, it will be too late. Raven, can you teleport us there?” Beastboy asked. She nodded. “Titans, go.”

* * *

By the time the flames were put out, the building was completely destroyed. It was a charred mess. Thankfully, there were no casualties. Minor things mostly. Smoke inhalation and first degree burns here and there. Emergency services had arrived minutes after the building collapsed. But every person and pet had been rescued. Raven was exhausted. She didn’t know why. She didn’t even use that much energy. But for some reason, it felt like she had just gone toe to toe with her father…again. She wanted to go back to the tower, back to her bed; but Rose was speaking to a fireman about the cause of the fire, and Beastboy and Impulse were taking selfies with fans. She closed her eyes and began to rub her temples. “Excuse me, Miss Raven?” Raven came face to face with a professional woman wearing business attire. Her black hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. But what surprised Raven was the fact that a person was talking to her. Usually people avoided her like the plague. “Can I help you?” Raven asked. “And it’s just Raven.”

“I’m Detective Carson,” she stuck her hand out for Raven to shake. Raven hesitated before shaking the detective’s hand. Her aversion to skin-to-skin contact had worsened the past month, not that she ever liked skin-to-skin contact. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did here today. My mother lives in this building. She wouldn’t be alive without you.”

“Well, it’s really a team effort,” Raven said mustering up tight smile. The detective studied Raven for a moment. “You don’t look okay,” the detective said.

“Excuse me?”

“Your aura is off.”

“What?” Raven said.

“Believe it or not, I am mildly psychic.” Raven looked skeptical. “No, it’s true,” the detective said. “It runs in the family. Your aura is familiar, though.”

"Excuse me?”

“PTSD,” the detective said.

“What?” Raven asked.

“You. I’ve been watching you this past month, well, my daughter has. You’re her favorite titan. You don’t go out much. And the media usually has a hard time getting a picture of you. But lately, that’s seemed to change. My daughter sensed the change in your aura a couple of weeks ago. I told her she was wrong. But now seeing you here in person...”

“What do you mean PTSD and me?”

“You have PTSD. I know the signs. My husband was in the military. Your aura is the same color his was when he returned from Afghanistan.” Raven opened her mouth to protest, but the detective continued. “And I know a recent sexual assault victim’s aura when I see one.”

“What the what?” Raven said, shocked. “What do you mean? I don’t follow.”

“You. I can read your body language more clearly now. The wide, glazed look in your eyes. You’ve checked your surroundings at least 12 times in the time we’ve been speaking. Your body language suggests you are very, very alert. Hyperalert.”

“I don’t…I…what? How do you know my body language?”

“I told you, I’m mildly psychic. Have you told your leader yet?”

“Told him what? There’s nothing to-”

“You should. You need to tell someone or else it will get worse. The fear, the hyperawareness. Panic attacks.” The detective pulled a card out of her back pocket. “This is a licensed trauma therapist. She specializes in sexual assault. I recommend her to every survivor that comes to me. You should talk to her.” Raven didn’t even realize she had reached for the card until after the card was in her hand.

“Um…thank you.”

“No. Thank you," the detective said. "And good luck.” Raven stared at the card. Dr. Patricia Gray.

“What’s that?” Raven jumped. She hadn’t even sensed Rose walk up behind her. “You’re jumpy.”

“It’s nothing.”

“What did the detective want?” she asked.

“How’d you know she was a detective?” Rose just shrugged. “She was just thanking me. Are you ready to go?”


	4. Chapter 4

Raven sat crossed-leg on her bed, staring at the business card. As soon as they returned to the tower, she had immediately locked herself in her room. She had been staring at the business card for the last two hours. “Sexual assault, please,” she scoffed. She had not been sexually assaulted. She would have known. She would have remembered. That detective was off. Way off. A wack job. Just another wannabe meta. But, the more Raven thought about it, the more Raven began to think the detective was on to something. Her memory of that night hadn’t returned, and Connor was still comatose. Not even J’onn knew what to do. From all accounts, Connor was healthy. There was no reason for him to be in a coma. There were too many unanswered questions. Her head hurt. Cassie was losing patience with her. Tim, who had returned from Gotham, was losing sleep researching Connor’s condition. She knew what she needed to do. Raven grabbed her mirror. She mentally slapped herself for not thinking of it before. She needed to have a chat with her emotions. It was time to go to Nevermore.

Raven landed in Nevermore. The atmosphere was all…wrong. Nothing was going on. Everything was...still. Not peaceful, but still. She could usually sense her emotions in the air, but she felt…numb. And the sky was gray. And Happy was nowhere to be seen. She was usually the first to greet Raven whenever she did visit.

After walking around aimlessly, Raven finally located her emotions. They were huddled together, but they weren’t doing anything. They were just sitting in a kum-bah-yah circle. Suddenly, Knowledge looked up and said, “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me? What are you talking about? What’s going on?” Knowledge looked down. “What is happening? Why is the sky gray? Since when does Anger not try to kill Happy? Since when does she not try to kill anyone? Why are you all just sitting here? And why isn’t Happy…happy?”

“We were just trying to protect you?” Timid whispered.

“Protect me from what? What are you talking about? Uhh! You guys, I swear, sometimes I just want to – uhh!!!!” Raven grasped her head in exasperation. “Alright, I’m going to do a memory walkthrough.”

“No!” Fear jumped up. “Don’t do it.”

“She needs to,” Bravery said. “It’s the only way we will get better.”

“If she doesn’t, we will lose control again and hurt even more people. We were lucky she left the concert when she did. It could have been the nightclub incident all over again,” Knowledge said. “Okay,” Knowledge turned back to Raven. “Okay. I’ll open the door connected to that memory. You’ll be able to walk through it. Bravery is going to go with you. You’ll need her.” Raven looked at her mirror image. “You ready?” Raven asked her. Bravery looked Raven dead in her eye and said, “Are you?” The door appeared. Raven and Bravery walked through it.

Raven observed her surroundings. They were back at the night club. The memory played in front of them in slow motion. She watched her past self run into the night club looking for Connor. “I remember this,” Raven said. “Dr. Light had attacked the night club with some type of airborne date rape drug. It was unclear. He went on a rape rampage at a night club. And the police needed help apprehending him. But there was something else in the air. Something that caused Connor to lose his powers. Something that knocked him unconscious.” Raven stared harder. There were green dust particles in the air. “Kryptonite. But not a lot of it. Just enough to bring Connor to his knees.”

“There was so much going on,” Bravery said. “Too many emotions from the cops outside, the girls on the floor, Connor was panicking. It was too hard to concentrate.” Raven watched herself run to Connor, who she found crawling on the floor. She began to run to him. “I remember,” Raven said. “I saw Connor on the ground. I had to get him out of there. But then I felt pain in the back of my skull.” Raven watched her past self crumble to the ground. Dr. Light had electrocuted her with some type of…gun? She watched as she writhed on the ground clutching her head, screaming in pain. Dr. Light electrocuted her again. This time, she was completely immobilized. It didn’t even look like she was breathing. Was she? “Huh,” she heard Dr. Light say. “150,000 volts of electricity. Good to know. I was hoping for the blonde one, but what the hell. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Wait,” Raven looked at Bravery. Bravery looked down. “What does…what is he doing?” Raven watched in horror as Dr. Light began to tear at her clothes.

“No,” Raven said backing into Bravery, tears running down her face. “No.” She shook her head no. She turned to Bravery. Bravery looked away. Raven looked at Connor who was trying to get to her and screaming her name. But Dr. Light walked over to him and kicked him in the face. “Shut up! You’re interrupting me,” he sneered. He then walked back over to Raven’s motionless body. “Now, where were we?” Raven’s past self began to regain consciousness, but Dr. Light zapped her with electricity again. “No, no, can’t have you interrupting, now can we?” He immediately went to work on her lower half. Raven wanted to freeze the memory and change it somehow, but she couldn’t. This had already happened. But, before Dr. Light could penetrate her, Raven watched her past self’s eyes go red – all four of them. Her past self then let out a scream, and energy shot out from her, going every which way. The building came crashing down.

Raven knelt in Nevermore, gasping for air as tears streamed down her face. Her emotions stood around her. “Anger got so mad,” Bravery said. “We were all paralyzed on the ground. But Anger was able to stand momentarily. She took over.”

“Why? Why did you hide this from me?” Raven demanded. Knowledge stepped forward and said, “We wanted to protect you. We tried to wake you up, to stop him. But we couldn’t. Only Anger was able to take control. And then, we all just froze. We all were numb. None of us could move.”

“You were in shock,” Raven whispered.

“_We_ were in shock,” Knowledge said. “We all just…froze. One by one, we came out of our haze. But, by the time the last emotion was…revived, Red Robin was ordering you back to the tower. So…” Knowledge looked away.

“So, we decided it would be best not to release the memory right away,” Bravery continued.

“But you began to calm down after a few moments. You were relaxed. Your head wasn’t hurting. We weren’t in pain. So, we decided to hold off that night. But, when you woke up the next day, you seemed okay. We didn’t want to ruin your mood,” Happy said. “You seemed fine not remembering, and you were. But then the nightmares happened. You were reliving the incident in your dreams. And then there were the panic attacks. After the concert, we knew we had to do something soon. We just didn’t know what.”

“Releasing the memory suddenly with no warning would do more harm than good. We are so sorry it took us so long,” Knowledge said.

“We were only trying to protect you,” Bravery said. Sadness stepped forward, crouched down, and wrapped her arms around Raven. Sadness’ tears mingled with Raven’s. Raven released a terrifying scream that shook all of Nevermore. After a moment, Raven stood up and said, “I need to go. I need to- “her voice broke.

“What will you do?” Timid asked. “Will you tell Tim?”

“I don’t know,” Raven said, disentangling herself from Sadness, “I’ll do something.” Before she stepped through the portal to return to her room, Raven turned and looked at all her emotions that seemed to emulate Sadness. “Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”

Raven opened her eyes. She was back in her room, sitting on her bed. The place was a wreck. She would have to do some cleaning. _Knock! Knock! Knock! _“Raven!” she heard Beastboy from the other side of her door. “It’s Connor! Come quick!”


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone else was already there, standing around Connor’s bed. Rose, Garfield, Bart, Tim, and Cassie who held onto Connor’s hand. “What is it?” she asked appearing in front of her friends. She looked at Connor, who was still comatose. Cassie looked up at a her and said, “Connor woke up. Not for long, just for a second. But he sat up in bed. He was shouting for you.”

“Me?” Raven asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Cassie continued. “He was yelling your name. He was telling you to look out. He kept apologizing. Then he went back to sleep.” Raven felt all eyes on her. “Raven,” Tim said softly, “what happened that night? What aren’t you telling us?” He took a step toward her, but Raven took a step back. It would be so easy to tell them. To just tell the truth of what really happened. But with all of them just staring at her expectantly, fear set in. She couldn’t. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. “I don’t know,” she said eventually. “I told you all, I don’t remember.”

“You have to remember something,” Cassie pled, tears coming to her eyes. “Raven, please. It’s Connor.” Raven closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from escaping her eyes. Objects in the room began to rattle and the room began to shake.

“Raven,” Tim said, “just take a breath. Calm down.”

“I told you I don’t remember,” Raven growled, her control slipping, “I don’t remember.” She stormed out of the med bay. Unfortunately for her, Tim followed. “Raven,” he called out once they reached the common room, but she refused to stop. “Raven,” he caught up to her, grabbing her by the hand. Raven tore her hand from his grasp and whirled around to face him. “Stop touching me!” she screamed.

“What is going on with you? What aren’t you telling me? You know you can trust me.”

“I know,” Raven said willing the tears to stay in her eyes.

“Then why won’t you say anything? Why won’t you talk to me?” Raven turned away from him. “Leave it alone, Tim,” her voice trembled at the end, something he took notice of.

“You know I can’t do that,” he said. “Connor is in a coma. No one knows how to wake him up. Not Martian Manhunter, not Zatara, not Batman. And Dr. Fate is nowhere to be found. I need answers. And something tells me that you know a lot more than you’re letting on.” Raven shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. “Raven,” Tim began again, “what happened at the concert? There was an ‘earthquake’?”

“I don’t know,” she said looking down, a little surprised who knew about that incident since he was in Gotham at the time. “I lost control.”

“You seem to be doing that a lot lately.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Tim, it happens.”

“Can you tell me why Connor would shout your name after being a little more than a vegetable this past month?”

“I don’t know, I mean no, I can’t tell you.”

“Okay,” Tim said, “than maybe you can tell me about the nightmares.” Raven’s head snapped up staring at him in shock. How did he know? “Oh, come on,” he said, “our rooms are on the same floor. They are literally right across from each other.”

“You never said anything,” she stated quietly.

“I wanted you to come to me. I know you never liked it when we all came barging into your room when you had nightmares in the past. You haven’t had nightmares in such a long time, as far as I know. Why are they back now?”

“It’s nothing,” Raven turned her back towards him. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it?” Tim dragged his hand through his hair. “Raven…”

“Leave. It. Alone,” she said through clenched teeth.

“No!” Tim said, his patience gone. “Usually, I leave you to your solitude because I know you’ll work it out. But it’s been a month, and nothing has changed with you. Actually, you’ve gotten worse. I’m not going to leave it alone any longer. What is going on with you?” he demanded.

“I don’t know!” Raven whirled around, her eyes glowing white. Things began to fly around the room, windows began to crack as wind from nowhere started blowing through her hair. Tim took a step back, but Raven kept coming. “Don’t you get it? What don’t you understand? I. Don’t. Know. Do you need me to spell it out for you!”

“Raven,” Tim said softly. Raven immediately calmed down, her eyes returning to normal. “I’m sorry,” she said backing away, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Raven, it’s okay. Just breathe.”

“No, it’s not okay,” Raven cried. “It will never be okay.”

“What does that mean?” Tim asked, gently grabbing her hands. “Please, let me in. I want to help you. Let me help you.” Raven took a step back, shaking her head, as tears began to seep from her eyes. “I can’t…I can’t…” she said still shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to help Connor. I’m sorry,” she whispered again, before disappearing into the floor.

“Raven, wait,” Tim called, but she was already gone. Tim dragged a hand through his hair. “Dammit…Impulse!” he called. Bart appeared in front of him in a split second. “You rang,” he said.

“Come with me,” Tim said. “I need you to do something.”

* * *

Raven sat in front of her bedroom window watching the sunset. She had finally stopped crying. But her room was in a worse state of disarray than when she had previously left it. The shelves were broken, her curtains were torn. The bathroom mirror was cracked in many places. She would need a new bed. Thankfully, her books had survived the emotional hurricane. Raven looked down at the business card in front of her. Maybe it was time to give this Dr. Patricia a call.


	6. Chapter 6

“Remember,” Tim looked Impulse straight in the eye, “don’t touch anything. We don’t want to mess up the timeline.”

“Dude, relax,” Impulse said. “I got this.” Impulse shook his arms and legs, loosening them up.

“I mean it,” Tim said, “don’t touch anything.”

“Yes, sir,” Impulse saluted mockingly. “Be back in a jiffy.” He sped off.

* * *

Impulse ran for what felt like a minute but in reality, was three minutes. He came to a stop at an all too familiar night club. “It worked,” he chuckled. “I can’t believe the boy wonder’s plan worked.” He immediately zipped inside and hid behind a couple of overturned tables. “What the…” his voice trailed off. The club was filled with a mixture of fog and green sparkles. Impulse quickly waved his hand back and forth causing some of the green dust to disperse. Connor and Raven were both on the floor. Dr. Light was standing over them. Impulse cocked his head to the side in confusion. What was Connor doing? Was he groveling? And why was Raven on her back? He watched the scene play out. Dr. Light kicked Connor in the face, and then he went back to Raven, who was still on her back. Impulse realized she was unconscious, and Connor was trying to crawl to her. Impulse watched as Dr. Light stood over Raven, staring. He realized Dr. Light was talking, but he wasn’t close enough to hear what was being said. But he was able to clearly see what was going on. “What the-!” he quickly snapped a hand over his mouth and ducked down. He peeked from behind the table and released a sigh of relief when he realized he had not been heard. It was just, at that very moment, Dr. Light had begun disrobing. And Impulse had not been expecting…_that_. _But_, Impulse wondered, _what is he doing? What’s he taking his pants off for?_ After a moment, Impulse’s eyes widened in understanding and horror.

* * *

Tim felt a gust of cool air. He looked up from his desk to see that Impulse had returned. “So?” he said turning to look at the speedster. Impulse said nothing. He just stood there in shock. “Bart,” Tim waved his hands in front of Bart’s face. “Bart!” he shook him by the shoulders. Bart came out of his stupor. “Huh?” he said.

Tim gestured for him to talk. “What did you find?”

“I…here,” he dropped a memory card in Tim’s hand. “I pulled it from a camera at the night club, right before the place exploded.”

“Bart,” Tim groaned, “I told you _not_ to touch anything.”

“We’ll be fine as long as I return it in the next few minutes, but you need to watch it.”

“Why can’t you just tell me?” Tim asked as he plugged it into his computer.

“I can’t. I just…just watch it.” Tim stared at the screen, fast forwarding to the night of the incident, slightly annoyed. It wasn’t long until Tim’s eyes widened, and he slammed his laptop shut. He didn’t need to watch the entire video. He now understood what happened that night. No wonder Raven didn’t want to talk about it. “How did…? But Connor was…” Tim stuttered.

“Yeah,” Bart said. “I know.”

“Dr. Light immobilized Connor. That’s no easy feat. How did he do that?”

“Hmmm…” Impulse put his finger to his chin thoughtfully. “When I was there, I saw green particles in the air.”

“Kryptonite?”

“Only thing that makes sense. Want me to run back and grab a sample?”

“No!” Tim said quickly. “I mean, it’s fine.”

“Damn,” Impulse said, sitting on Tim’s bed. “Now I feel bad for giving her the cold shoulder that night. No wonder she brought the place down. What now?” Tim sat silently for a moment. “Show Cassie,” he finally said, “and then put it back exactly where you found it.”

“I know. I know.”

“I need to talk to Raven.” Tim was dreading this conversation. Man, somedays, he really hated being the leader.

* * *

Raven used her powers to scoop up another pile of broken glass. She had made an appointment with the therapist, and she felt slightly better. Less lonely. And her room no longer looked like it had survived a category 5 hurricane. But she would most definitely need a new bed. And pillows. And blankets. And sheets. And curtains. Maybe she should just get a new room. There were plenty to choose from in the tower. And her shelves – she was interrupted from her train of thought by a knock at her door. “Raven.” She tensed at the sound of Tim’s voice. “May I please come in? I really need to talk to you. It won’t take long.” Raven cracked the door open. “Five minutes,” was all he said. Raven looked back at her room. “My room is sort of a mess right now,” she said uneasily, “do we have to talk in here?”

“I think it would be best.” Raven opened the door wider, letting him in. Tim surveyed the destroyed room. “Redecorating?” he asked in jest.

“Something like that,” Raven muttered looking down at her bare feet.

“What happened to your bed?” he looked at what was left of it. Raven shrugged. A moment of silence overtook them. “Tim,” Raven began nervously pulling on the sleeves of her oversized, off-the-shoulder sweater, “if this is about Connor- “

“It’s not,” Tim interrupted her. Tim rubbed his face before saying, “Raven – I know.” Raven stared at him, confused. “I know,” he repeated.

“Know what?” Raven asked. She was having a hard time sensing his emotions. Then again, Tim’s emotions had always been hard to read. All the Robins were. But Tim’s facial expressions kept fluctuating from pity to understanding. “That night at the club,” he said. “I. Know.” And that is when it hit Raven. He knew. She knew he knew. She didn’t know how he knew. But he knew. “How?” she whispered.

“A video.”

“The cameras were destroyed. Decimated.”

“I asked Impulse to run back in time.”

“You had him go back in time? Do you know how reckless that is?”

“I needed to know what was going on, and you weren’t talking to me. Why didn’t you tell us? Tell me?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.

“I didn’t remember until earlier today,” Raven wrapped her arms around herself. “I would have told you… eventually.”

“Raven-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Raven-”

“Why couldn’t you just leave it alone?” She was going to cry…again. Her emotions were a wreck. “Raven, you know I couldn’t do that. Connor is in a coma; you were falling apart. This team was falling apart. I had to do something.”

“Well…now you know. It doesn’t change anything. Connor is still comatose, and I still don’t know how to wake him up.”

“That’s okay,” Tim said, “but I need you to walk me through what happened.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to file a report with the police and with the Justice League- “

“No!” Raven said. “Not the Justice League.”

“I’m required to report rapes and murders, Raven. That’s part of the agreement. They stay out of our hair; we report when a crime happens against one of our own.” Raven continued to shake her head. She didn’t want them to know. “Raven, I know you have your issues with the league. I know they are well-founded issues. But I have to do this. This isn’t just a normal rapist. This is a rapist with superpowers. The Justice League had us take care of Dr. Light because they didn’t see him as a threat. But he was able to take Connor out. This will prove they were wrong, and he is a threat.”

“I don’t want them to know.”

“Raven- “

“I wasn’t even raped. He didn’t even-”

“It was damn close, Raven. Please…Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are the only ones who will know it was you. They won’t give your name to the other leaguers. You’ll remain anonymous.”

“I don’t want anyone else to know,” she turned away from Tim. “Just you, Impulse and Connor knowing is good enough.”

“And Cassie,” Tim said uneasily.

“What!” Raven whirled around to face him.

“I had Bart tell her.”

“Why?”

“You were okay with her continuing to blame you for something that wasn’t your fault?”

“It _was_ my fault. All of it. I deserve her anger.” Tim was in front of her in a heartbeat, gripping her upper arms. “Don’t you say that,” he said firmly. “Don’t you ever say that. Don’t even think it.”

“I lost control.”

“You were protecting yourself. You weren’t even conscious.”

“I should have been stronger. I should have…” her bottom lip quivered. “Connor is in this mess because of me. He’s hurt because of me.” The tears came streaming down her face. “All of those people were injured because of me. Dr. Light escaped because of me.”

“No,” Tim shook his head. He cupped Raven’s face in his hands and began to brush away the tears with his thumbs. “No. None of that was your fault. You did nothing wrong.” He gently tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “I need you to believe that. It was not your fault. You are not to blame. Dr. Light escaping, those people – they’re just collateral damage. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. And no one died.”

“But- “

“Not. Your. Fault.”

“I almost hurt you earlier today. I could have seriously injured you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“But I could have. I’m a walking timebomb. A hazard.”

“No, you’re not. You were scared. You were protecting yourself. No one can fault you for that.”

“Do you really have to tell Batman?” she whispered. Tim nodded. “What if they want to talk to me? What if they – I don’t want to relive…” her voice trailed off.

“It’s okay,” Tim said. “If they want to talk to you, I’ll go with you. You won’t have to do it alone. I promise you that.”

“I still don’t know how to wake Connor. I started researching-”

“That’s okay,” he continued to wipe the tears from her face. “That’s okay,” his blue eyes gazed at her softly. “We’ll worry about Connor later. He isn’t my main concern right now. You are. I am so sorry,” he said placing his forehead against hers. “Raven, I am so, so sorry. I wasn’t there.”

“It’s okay,” Raven murmured. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m the leader. I should have been faster, I should have…I am so sorry.” Raven began to cry softly. “What can I do?” Tim whispered. “What can I do to make you feel better right now? Tell me.”

“A hug would be nice,” Raven whispered after a moment.

“Really?” he leaned back, looking at her in shock. She nodded. “Okay,” Tim said with a smile and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a comforting embrace. “You’ll be okay. You’re okay.”

“I’m scared,” she sobbed.

“I know. I’ve got you, Raven, you’re safe now. You’re safe now.”


	7. Chapter 7

Tim looked down at the sleeping empath, gently stroking her hair. She must have been exhausted to fall asleep on his lap unabashedly. “Raven?” he heard Cassie from the other side of the door. She slowly pushed it open to see Tim on the floor with Raven’s head in his lap. He put a finger to his lips, telling Cassie to be quiet. She slowly crept up to them. “How is she?” she asked sitting down next to him.

“She’s…she’ll be okay.” Cassie nodded. “Did Bart put it back?”

“Yes. He, Beastboy, and Rose are now scouring the city, looking for any traces or leads on Dr. Light. Rose said something about beating it out of a couple of drug lords and pimps.”

“Drug lords? Dr. Light doesn’t usually hang with drug lords or pimps.”

“Yeah. I think she’s just looking for someone to hurt. She sliced the heads off all the dummies in the gym.”

“Again,” Tim said with a groan.

“Yeah.” Cassie looked around the room. “Is Raven redecorating?”

“Something like that,” Tim said with a smirk.

“What happened to her bed?”

“She didn’t tell me.” Cassie watched as he continued to stroke Raven’s hair. “I am a terrible person,” she said.

“Cassie, don’t,” Tim began.

“No,” she interrupted, “I call myself her friend, but I behaved horribly.” Tears began to fill her vision.

“Cassie, it wasn’t just you.”

“But _I _call myself her friend! I made her feel like I always had her back, and when she needed me most, I left her hanging, alone. I wasn’t trustworthy.”

“Cassie, you weren’t the only one who was hard on her. We all were. Except for Gar. And Rose. We’re a team, but we’re also human. Well, Rose and I are. The rest of you are of a different breed. But the point is, we’re all young. We’re going to make mistakes.”

“This was a pretty big mistake, Tim.”

“Yes. But it’s something we can learn from.”

“I owe her a big apology.”

“We all do,” Tim said as he resumed absently stroking Raven’s hair.

“So, what happens now?”

“I have to report it to the Justice League.”

“Are you serious? Don’t’ you remember how they treated Raven not too long ago?”

“It’s something I have to do. And only Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will know Raven is involved.”

“They’re going to want to talk to her.”

“And when the time comes, I will go with her. She will not be alone.”

“I hope she forgives me,” Cassie said after a moment.

“I don’t think she’s mad at you. When we were talking, she seemed to think she deserved your rage.”

“That’s preposterous. She should know better.”

“You know Raven. She’s always hard on herself.”

“Something you two have in common,” Cassie said with a smirk. Tim rolled his eyes at her as his hand moved from Raven’s hair to her cheek. “You know,” Cassie said changing topics, “if you wanted Raven to fall asleep on you, you could have just asked her. You didn’t have to wait for something traumatic to happen to her.”

“Shut up,” Tim said playfully.

“Why haven’t you asked her on a date yet?”

“Why would I…I don’t like – I can’t just walk up to Raven and ask her on a date.”

“Why not?”

“Because…I’m…I don’t know.”

“I think you’re losing your charm.”

“Excuse you, my charm is fine, thank you very much.”

“And yet, you still haven’t asked Raven on a date.”

“It’s a work in process. Don’t question my methods.”

“Or your charm just isn’t as great as you think it is."

“I seem to remember it working on you.”

“For like, a day.”

“It still worked.”

“And I still left you.” Tim shook his head with a smile. A year ago, if you had told him he and Cassie would be friends again, joking with each other, he would have called you a liar and thrown you off the tallest building in Gotham. “Well, I’m going to get back to Connor,” Cassie said standing up. Tim nodded. Cassie turned to look back at Tim and Raven. “You two,” she cooed.

“Go, Cassie,” Tim said.  
  


* * *

Raven blinked a few times before taking stock of her surroundings. She was not in her room. For one, she was curled up comfortably, under blankets, on a mattress. She was in a bed. It couldn’t be her bed. Her mattress had been torn to shreds last night, and her bed was a splintered mess. She slowly sat up and looked around. She was still in her oversized sweater, but this wasn’t her room. The room looked like a typical boy’s room. Except that it was exceptionally neat, and there was state of the art computer equipment with a bunch of newspaper clippings hanging on the wall above it. _Oh no, _Raven’s eyes widened. _This was Tim’s room. _“Hey, look who’s up,” a cheerful, masculine voice said. Raven turned to see Tim step out of his bathroom wearing nothing but sweatpants while towel drying his hair. Raven gulped. She subtly put her hands to her mouth. It looked like she was covering a yawn, but in reality, she was making sure she wasn’t literally drooling. She had woken up in Tim’s bed with a shirtless Tim standing two feet away from her. How many times had she had this dream now? Twelve times? Only this wasn’t a dream. “How’d you sleep?” Tim asked as he rummaged through his drawers for a shirt. “G-good,” Raven stuttered. After pulling on a wife beater, Tim sat on his bed across from Raven. She had to remind herself to take slow deep breaths. “How are you feeling today?” Tim asked, worry marring his handsome features.

“I’m late for school,” Raven mentally slapped herself. Really? That was the only thing she could come up with. She was so pathetic. She wanted to sink underneath the covers and never come out. Tim let out a deep, husky, beautiful laugh; and Raven immediately felt her face warm. “Yes,” Tim said. “You are _very _late for school. As a matter of fact, it’s almost 2 in the afternoon. I think you’re going to have to skip.” His eyes were dancing in amusement. “Oh,” Tim grabbed something from his desk. “Your phone has been going off. Someone really wants to get a hold of you.” Raven looked at her phone. Fifty text messages and twenty missed calls. All from Tabitha. “Tabitha,” Raven moaned. “I’m a terrible friend. I haven’t spoken to her since the concert.”

“You’re not a terrible friend. You have a really good excuse for not replying to her. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“She doesn’t know I’m Raven. She only knows me as Rachel. Besides, I don’t know if I want her to know about…_this _yet. I’ll come up with something. Um…how did I get here?”

“I carried you. You fell asleep on my lap; and as much as I enjoyed having you in my lap, it couldn’t have been comfortable for you. And your bed is no longer usable.” She had fallen asleep on Tim’s lap. She willed the blush to stay away from her face. Now was not the time to think about her head in Tim’s lap, Tim was still speaking. “So,” he continued slowly, “I got in touch with Batman.” Raven’s face visibly fell. “And, he said they will need to hear from you.”

“Tim,” she moaned.

“And I filed a report with the local police. I told them you were to remain anonymous, but since all the evidence was destroyed, there’s only so much they can do. And, they usually don’t like handling meta-villains anyway.”

“I just want to forget about it.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I could wipe my own memory.”

“Raven,” Tim looked horrified.

“I’m kidding,” she said quickly. “Sort of. I don’t want to talk to Batman or Superman or any leaguers.” She threw his covers back and began to get up. “Raven,” Tim gently grabbed her hands and held them in his own. “I know how hard this is.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“I know what you’re going through.”

“I really hope you don’t. This feeling…this is awful,” she looked down at her hands still in his.

“You won’t be alone. I’ll be right there with you.” Raven closed her eyes to stop the tears from running down her face. But a few managed to escape. “The last time I was there,” she began.

“This won’t be like last time,” Tim said as he gently wiped the few tears away with his thumb.

“How will this be different from last time?” Raven whispered, staring at Tim desperately.

“I’ll be there this time. I’ll have your back. They’ll have to listen to you this time. They won’t be able to throw you out. They won’t be able to ignore you.”

“And if they do?” she asked. Tim looked her straight in the eye and said, “Then fuck them.”


	8. Chapter 8

Raven stood fidgeting next to Tim in the lift, pulling nervously at her hands. “You’re doing the right thing,” Tim said comfortingly. Raven released the breath she had been holding. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s just…I don’t have fond memories of this place.” Tim reached for Raven’s hand and began to rub circles on the back of it with his thumb. “I know,” Tim said. “But, remember, you’re not alone.” He intertwined his fingers with hers. “Tim,” Raven began, “thank you so much for being here with me.”

“It really is my pleasure, Raven,” Tim said with a smile. He then slowly turned Raven towards him and pulled the hood to her cloak down. He began to stroke her face. “Raven- “he abruptly stopped when the elevator doors swished opened. They immediately separated, coming face-to-face with Batman. “Batman,” Tim said evenly.

“Red Robin. Raven,” Batman replied before turning on his heel. Tim and Raven followed close behind him until they reached Superman and Wonder Woman who were standing in front of a room.

“Hello, Red Robin,” Wonder Woman said. “I wasn’t aware you would be joining us.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Tim asked pointedly. “Raven is my teammate and my friend.” He interlaced their fingers once more to prove a point. Wonder Woman looked down at the intertwined fingers. “Is there a problem?” Tim asked, his masked eyes glaring at Wonder Woman. “There is no problem here,” Superman said stepping between the two. “Raven, it _is _nice to see you. I wished the circumstances were different, but…should we begin?” He, Wonder Woman, and Batman walked into the small conference room. “Are you ready?” Tim asked Raven.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Raven replied as they entered the room behind the leaguers.

* * *

“Well,” Tim said as they entered the lift. “That wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“I guess not,” Raven said with a soft smile. “Thank you for being here for me today.”

“Anytime, Raven, anytime.” They waited in a comfortable silence, until they reached the ground. “So, where to next?”

“Hmm?” Raven asked. “I have school. I missed yesterday. And, I really need to speak to Tabitha. I owe her a huge apology.” Tim smiled. He grabbed her hand and said with a chuckle, “Okay. I will take you to school.” He gently pulled on her hand bringing her face-to-face, chest-to-chest with him.

“What are you doing?” Raven whispered.

“Admiring the most beautiful, wonderful, strong, brave girl in the world.” Raven looked down to hide her blush. But Tim gently lifted her chin. “I’m serious. You’re amazing. A lot of people would rather forget their traumas than face them. You didn’t.” Raven gave a half smile before her face turned pensive. “What?” Tim asked in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I think I know how to wake Connor,” she said slowly.

* * *

As soon as they reached the tower, Raven immediately teleported to the med bay startling Cassie. “Raven,” Cassie said, “what’s wrong?”

“I have an idea,” Raven said. “It may not work, but I think it will. I think I can wake Connor.”

“Go ahead.” Raven placed her hands on the sides of Connor’s head. She began to mutter in a language Cassie didn’t understand. Raven’s eyes began to glow white, as well as Connor’s. Maybe this would work.

It worked. She was in Connor’s head. Raven looked around. She was in a field. A corn field. To her right was a barn, and to her left was a quaint house with a pickup truck and a mailbox with the word _KENT _painted on it. She began to walk towards the house but stopped suddenly when she heard a dog bark. She turned to see a white dog wagging his tail and looking at her. The dog ran back towards the field, stopped, and looked at her. He barked again, took a few more steps to the field, and looked back at her. _He wants me to follow him,_ Raven realized. So, she did. After a few minutes, Raven and the dog came to a clearing where she could see a figure sitting on top of a hill. “Connor,” she whispered. She ran to him. “Connor?” she said out loud once she approached him. He looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. “Raven?” he asked in wonder, slowly standing to his feet. “Raven,” he pulled her into a hug. “What are you doing here? How did you get here? Where is here?’

“We’re in your mind, Connor. I’ve come to bring you back. You’ve been in coma for a little over a month now.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yes. But it’s time for you to come home now. We’re all waiting.”

“Raven,” he said looking down at her with tears in his eyes, “I am so, so sorry.”

“Connor,” Raven began.

“No, it was my fault. I should have waited for backup like Tim said. I shouldn’t have run in there like that. If I had just waited- “

“Hey,” Raven grasped both sides of his face, “it’s okay. I don’t blame you. It wasn’t your fault.”

“But if- “

“No,” Raven shook her head. “I’m okay now. Well…I’m going to be. But I’d be more okay if you came back to us. We’re all waiting for you. Especially Cassie.” Connor’s face brightened at the mention of Cassie’s name. “Cassie?” he asked. Raven nodded. “Yes,” she said. “She’s been a constant fixture at your side.” Raven waved her hand and a portal appeared. She turned to Connor and held out her hand. “Are you ready to come back home?”

Raven stumbled a little as she returned to reality. But Cassie was there to catch her. “Well?” Cassie asked, hope shining in her eyes.

“Wait for it,” Raven said.

“Mmmm,” they both turned to the source of the moan. “Connor!!!!!” Cassie screamed and launched herself onto the young man struggling to sit up in bed. “I was so scared! I thought you were lost to us forever!” Cassie cried.

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m back,” Connor said stroking Cassie’s blonde hair. Raven stepped back and sat on a bed next to Connor. She was happy to see Connor, but the trip into Connor’s psyche had drained her. His brain was stronger and more guarded than most. Cassie immediately turned towards Raven with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she pulled the empath into a hug, “thank you so much. I am so sorry about how I treated you.”

"It’s okay,” Raven said. “You didn’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter. I still shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. Please forgive me.”

“Of course.” Bart zoomed into the room followed by Garfield, Tim, and Rose. “What’s going on?” Bart asked. “Garfield heard screaming.” His eyes then found Connor, who was sitting up in bed. “Connor, dude!” he zipped to Connor, almost knocking him from the bed.

“How did-” Garfield asked.

“It was Raven,” Connor said. Tim turned to Raven. “It worked,” he said.

“Yes. Though it took more energy than I thought it would.”

“How’d you do it?” Rose questioned.

“I don’t really know how to explain it. The mind is a tricky place to navigate. I had to find his soul, and then wake him up?” she finished unsure of the explanation.

“Who cares how she did it?” Cassie cried; her entire body wrapped around Connor’s. “She brought Connor back. That’s all that matters.”

“This calls for a celebration,” Bart said.

“I’ll cook,” Garfield offered.

“No!” everyone said simultaneously.

* * *

Raven quickly made her way to Tabitha’s locker. “Rachel!” Tabitha exclaimed, pulling the empath into a hug. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried. I’ve been trying to reach you all weekend. You missed school yesterday. And the day before. And the day before that you wouldn’t respond to my calls. And- “

“I know. I know. I’m sorry,” Raven said cutting the other goth off. “I’m sorry I bailed on you Friday night. Something came up.”

“It’s okay. After the earthquake, the mood was moot at that point. Everyone went home.”

“I know I haven’t been the greatest friend recently. I just had so much going on this weekend. I’ll tell you about it sometime. But right now, you need to come with me.”

“Why?” Tabitha asked curiously.

“Because I have these.” Raven held up two tickets.

“What are these?” Tabitha took the tickets from Raven’s hand. Her eyes than widened in awe. “No way! Rachel, these are tickets to Black Blood who are performing in Gotham tonight. The Blackbirds are opening for them.”

“They’re not just any tickets,” Raven said with a smile. “They’re triple platinum tickets.” Tabitha gasped. “You mean, we get to meet the band?” she asked. Raven nodded before adding, “We get to see the band’s rehearsal, hang out backstage, and chill with the band after their performance.”

“But wait,” Tabitha said. “This performance is for tonight. And it’s in Gotham. It’s like, three hours away. And neither of us have a car.”

“My friend has a jet.” Tabitha’s jaw dropped. “And if we leave now, we can visit this gothic café I’ve always wanted to visit.”

“Rachel,” Tabitha gasped. “Are you suggesting we skip school? That would be three days in a row for you. Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” Raven smiled and said, “Come on, we need to leave before the first bell rings.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Tabitha said as she and Raven walked briskly to the school’s exit. “It’s so spontaneous and so not you. Seriously, what have you done with Rachel?”

“Shut up.”

“So, where’s your friend?” Tabitha asked after they exited school grounds.

“Right there.” Raven pointed to a silver supercar parked by the sidewalk, a young man casually leaning on its front end looking their way. Raven began to walk over to him. “Rachel, Rachel,” Tabitha whispered, grabbing her friend’s arm. “That’s a CCXR Trevita.”

“A what?” Raven asked.

“A really expensive supercar. There’s like five in existence, or something like that.”

“How do you know that?” Raven asked as they walked towards the car.

“My brother knows a guy. And, I do believe that the person leaning on said car is Tim Drake.”

“Yes, it is Tim Drake.”

“Why are we walking towards Tim Drake?” Tabitha asked.

“Because he’s our ride,” Raven said with a wide smile.

“No no no. _That_ is Tim Drake,” Tabitha said coming to a stop. “Gorgeous, genius Tim Drake, who lives with Bruce Wayne.”

“I know. Come on. He’s waiting for us,” Raven gave her friend a tug. “Hey, Tim,” Raven said as they approached him.

“Hey, Rache,” he gave her a hug.

“This is Tabitha.” Tim gave Tabitha a drop-dead gorgeous smile and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Tabitha. I’m Tim.”

“Yes, you are,” Tabitha said gripping his hand. Tim continued to smile as Tabitha stared at him in awe, still shaking his hand.

“Tabitha,” Raven said, “let go.”

“Oh, sorry,” Tabitha shook herself out of her stupor.

“You ready?” Tim asked. Raven nodded. Tim smiled and opened the door for the two girls. “Thanks, Tim,” Raven said with a small smile.

“Anything for you Rae.”

“You let him call you ‘Rae’?” Tabitha whispered rather loudly.

“You don’t mind sitting on each other, right? The airport is about ten minutes away,” Tim continued, pretending that he hadn’t heard Tabitha.

“We’re taking your jet?” Tabitha asked Tim.

“Technically, it’s Bruce’s jet,” Tim said with a smile.

“Omigosh!” Tabitha shouted as she made herself comfortable in the passenger’s seat. “Hurry up and sit on my lap, Rache.”

“You know, this is every guy’s fantasy,” Tim said, “two beautiful girls sitting on each other’s lap in my car. Best. Day. Ever.”

“Shut up,” Raven said rolling her eyes as she ducked into the car. Tim winked at her before closing the door. “Alright,” Tim said climbing into the driver’s seat. “You guys ready?"

“Ready,” Tabitha said eagerly from underneath Raven.

“Let’s go,” Raven said with a smile. Catching Tim’s eye, she blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. Maybe, just maybe, everything would finally be alright.


End file.
